


Marc's Birthday

by Andromeda612



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adorable Marc Anciel, Cute Marc Anciel, Everybody Loves Marc, Fluff, Gen, Is Marc's Birthday, Marc Anciel & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug are Cousins, Mom Friend Marc Anciel, Mutual Pining, little angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:27:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28735722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andromeda612/pseuds/Andromeda612
Summary: Is Marc's birthday and for the first time he is going to share it with friends!
Relationships: Marc Anciel & Alix Kubdel, Marc Anciel & Everyone, Marc Anciel & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marc Anciel & Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31
Collections: MarcNath Fics!





	Marc's Birthday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bisexual_Fangirl_Forever](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bisexual_Fangirl_Forever/gifts).



> This is a gift for Bisexual_Fangirl_Forever because today is her birthday! Happy Birthday sweetie! I hope today will be a great day for you, you are an awesome person and I feel very happy and honored to be your friend. Hope you enjoy this.

Marc wakes up with the sound of his alarm, he rubs his eye and takes a seating position as his mind slowly starts to wake up as well. Once his five senses are working he stands up and starts with his morning routine, make the bed, pick his outfit for the day, take a shower, get dressed, brush his teeth and then do his makeup. Is like any other day, however this time his mood is slightly more cheerful than any other, because today is his 14th birthday. 

The story of his birthdays is… interesting and particular, but he can say that nowadays he is very happy during this date of the year, and this year in particular is the most exciting one because it is the first year he will share his birthday with friends!

When he is ready he goes out his room and down the stairs to go to the kitchen where his parents receive him with confetti and a delicious breakfast, he can see they are also having chocolate pancakes with meringue as dessert. Is one of the things he likes about his birthday, this day his parents indulge him in his love for sweets. 

“Happy birthday, Little Prince!” both his parents exclaim happily, Marc smiles at them and hugs them. 

“Thanks!” he says as he enjoys the warm of the embrace, after a minute or so the Anciel family breaks the hug and gets ready to eat. 

“Are you excited about today honey?” His father asks before taking a bite of the breakfast. 

“Yeah, this is the first time I’ll be with friends and I really missed having my birthdays with Marinette so I’m happy for that too!” The Anciel family used to live in Lyon, so it wasn’t always that they got to spend important dates with the rest of their family, when Mei and Dean got job offers in Paris they didn’t think twice, to say that aunt Sabine was happy to have her little sister and her family near was an understatement. 

The family enters in a nice talk as they eat, with all the food gone Marc’s parents send him to brush his teeth again and assure him they will take care of the dishes— and don’t accept Marc’s protests, this is his birthday and they will pamper him all they want today— Marc knowing a lost fight just do as he was told. 

With everything ready— his teeth, outfit, makeup and backpack— Marc is ready to go to school. 

“I’m sorry Little Prince, we would have liked to drive you to school today but we both have to be on work early” his mom apologizes as the three of them get out of their house, Marc just smiles and hugs her. 

“Is okay, mom. I don’t mind walking” His mom kisses his cheek and lets go of him, Dean also gives him a hug and kiss before wishing him a nice day. 

“I’ll see you later,” Marc says as he starts walking in the direction of his school. The adults watch their son walking and once the teen is out of sight they share a knowing look, they are very excited to see Marc’s reaction when he sees the surprise his cousin and best friends had planned for him. They enter the car and drive to Marc’s favorite chocolatery, they have a lot to do for their son’s surprise. 

——————————————— 

As Marc walks he can’t help but remember, remember those years when things were really bad for him. 

He is an adopted child, he doesn’t remember very well how his biological parents look like, however, what he  _ does _ remember is the toxic environment he lived in during his first five years of life, the cruel things his mother would say when she was in a bad mood or how his father would hit him just because he was frustrated, their fights or rants about how he ruined their lives. 

He knew his biological parents didn’t want him, he was an accident, it was something they were always eager to remind him in every occasion they had, if he still had some food to eat and went to école maternal was just because his other near family pressed them to “take care of him” and apparently that pressure and him were the only reasons why they stayed together, — because even with such a short age he was able to understand his parents didn’t love each other— it was a hard life to live, specially for a young child, his other family just seemed to care about him when it came to critique his parents, so they were not a support either, Marc was basically alone. 

His parents were neglectful in their best days, now he understands he was victim of child abuse, but during that time he had no one to ask for help, he still remembers some of the things they said to him but the one he remembers almost crystal clear is the truth behind his name, his parents didn’t care about him at all, so is kind of a surprise they even bothered to give him a name.. which they didn’t, one day while his mother was drunken she revealed that was the nurse who attended them who chose his name. 

Yeah, it was a wonder why they let their other family pressure them into keeping him, honestly. 

One day— he doesn’t know if he should call it a lucky or unfortunate— during a particularly bad fight between his parents they almost killed each other, the commotion was huge and he was deadly scared, the neighbors noticed the noise of the fight and this time they called the police. 

When the cops arrived his parents were in a serious state, they called an ambulance and registered the house looking for him— the neighbors must have told them the couple had a kid— an old cop found him hiding under his bed and he is sure he will never forget the look on his face when he saw his state. 

If Marc had to choose one word to describe the man’s face he would use heartbroken… and he could have had the same face, when he was found he was covered in hits, skinny— more than he is now— and he is sure he was very sick too. 

After his parents were brought to the hospital the cops called a social worker to help his case, the social worker contacted his other family but any of them wanted to take care of him— a bunch of hypocrites— no matter what the social worker tried, no one wanted him so they had no other option than sent him to an orphanage. 

In the orphanage his life became a little better, maybe the life in an orphanage is not 5 stars but in comparison to his life with his parents… yeah it was a noticeable change. 

However less sad doesn’t mean happy. The kids in the orphanage were mean to him, his shyness and— later diagnosed— anxiety didn’t make things easy for him, he had a hard time trying to interact with the other kids who either get bored or even frustrated with him, some just ignored him but others— at seeing him alone— decided to bother him, since he was an easy target. 

They bullied him because he was lonely, because he was too quiet, because he was too shy, because he looked like a girl, because he was a nerd, because he preferred to read instead of play like ‘a normal child’ they would find any excuse to just bother him. The staff… they did what they could, some were really nice, others… they were not bad but it was not like they were enjoying their jobs either. 

One thing that did change was his birthday, when he lived with his biological parents he didn’t even know what a birthday was— he didn’t even know how old he was— but when the police inspected his former house they found his birth certificate, it was in a pretty bad state— it was a wonder why it was still legible or existent at all— but you could still read it, so the orphanage staff knew he was 5 years old and when his birthday was. 

And granted, they  _ did  _ celebrate his birthdays the two years he lived there— they actually celebrated birthdays for every kid but his was of the few that were accurate— for the first time he celebrated the day he was born… not like he enjoyed it. 

Don’t get him wrong, the idea of celebrating his birthday— when it was explained to him how birthdays worked— was pretty attractive, especially for a kid that so far has never felt special, much less loved. However, they were not as he expected. 

For starters the only attendants were the staff and the other kids, the same kids that either forgot about his existence or bullied him, so yeah, it was not only uncomfortable but his bullies didn’t care it was his birthday, so he still had to hide or face the bad treatment. Also, he never thought birthday parties could be so loud and crowded. He already had troubles during the meal time because of how crowded the cafeteria area was, now the same crowd was louder than normal which caused him anxiety. He felt out of place, like a total stranger in a party that was supposed to celebrate him— not like he already felt like that all the time— and the little gifts he received from the staff were either stolen or broken by his bullies, so his birthdays in the orphanage were not a happy memory for him. 

Little did he know his life was about to change for the better. 

Just a month after his 7 birthday— the second one he ever celebrated— Marc met Dean and Mei Anciel, a lovely married couple that couldn’t have kids of their own. 

The couple met with many kids but when they got to the sweet and shy boy with pitch black hair and green eyes they felt a sort of connection, if you ask them now, they will say they still can’t find words to describe it, they just knew it felt nice, it felt right. 

After that they had some more meetings to know each other, the couple fell in love with the sweet and quiet boy and Marc really liked the nice couple that was so kind with him, so far his birthday wishes were finding one person— anybody, no matter if it was a friend or new parents— who would like him for who he was, it seemed that this year his wish would finally come true and his new dream was for that marriage to adopt him. 

Some months passed between more meetings— in which one of them he met the couple’s nice, a kind girl named Marinette that was genuinely nice to him— some tests for the marriage, paperwork and other things until one day, finally, Marc was officially adopted, he was now Marc Anciel— and boy, how he liked how his new name sounded like rainbow, he loved them— he met his new uncle and aunt, his new cousin was there too and for the first time he saw his new home. 

He also met his new grandparents, he still loves when they go to visit them.

For the first time in his life he felt loved and happy— he still feels that way, every day stronger than the prior one— he changed schools— because he went to the school of the orphanage— he was a little sad to know that his new extended family didn’t live in Lyon like them, but was also excited to visit them in Paris as his parents promised him. 

From then on his birthdays became happy and a date he looked forward to, every year he had a delicious cake, some presents and his favorite food, and some years aunt Sabine, Uncle Tom and Marinette would visit him. 

This time he felt like he belonged in his birthday parties, like they were  _ for _ him. 

If he can call them parties that’s it, because it was actually just him and his parents, his uncles and cousin would join some times, he would have liked to invite some friends but the thing is he didn’t have any. Despite having a new start and a new family his social life was still pretty much the same. 

The other kids… they also either forgot about his existence— he was a natural wallflower— or decided to bother him, because like in the orphanage, being lonely, shy, looking like a girl and being basically a nerd were justified reasons to be bullied. 

The teachers at least did something about his tormentors— when they were caught, those bullies were kind of crafty— but most of the time he was just ignored, unless there was a group or pair work, or when he helped someone; years of being alone and feeling like a waste of oxygen made him develop a particular empathy towards persons in distress, because— somehow— he has been there, he knows how it feels to want someone, anyone to just help you, so every time he saw someone in need, if he could help, he did. He will, that never changed. 

But yeah, he didn’t have friends. It was sad? Yes, but he was very grateful for what he had. 

His favorite birthday was the last one he had— when he turned 13— because just a week before his birthday he came out with his parents, he was scared, the most scared he has been in his whole life— even more than when he lived with his biological parents— but everything turned out fine, perfect even. 

His parents— his real parents— accepted him and loved him just as he was, they were very happy for him and proud because he was brave to come out to them, some days later he also told his uncles and his cousin and just like his parents they accepted him and were very proud; Marinette even told him he was bisexual and she already came out to her parents, now she did it to her uncles and cousin. 

That birthday Marinette and her parents visited them, his little party was Pride themed and the cake was rainbow cake— his favorite— it was his best birthday so far. 

Some months after, his parents were offered nice jobs in Paris, they accepted them immediately and they moved, his first weeks in Marinette’s school were very calm, he was the same wallflower he always has been and so far he didn’t find any bullies— at least any interested in him— then his cousin invited him to the art club and he was akumatized… not the best experience but at the end things went just fine, he made new friends and got to know his little crush better, becoming friends— and falling even more for him— he now works with him in something they both love, and their comic is very successful, it was a nice change and he is very grateful for that. 

As for his birthday, now he is really excited about how this one will be, because this time it will be not just his family, this time he also has friends to share with, Nathaniel, Alix— his best friends— Rose, Juleka and the rest of their class as well as his own friends from Ms. Mendeleiev’s class. 

This is a huge change and he can’t wait to see it. 

Marc snaps out his thoughts as he enters the school, the first thing he sees is a bunch of confetti and he can hear different voices saying “Happy Birthday” when the confetti is cleared he can see all his friends there with smiling faces looking at him, and for the first time in his life he doesn’t mind the attention. 

“How is my favorite cousin doing on this wonderful day?” Marinette sings as she wraps him in a tight hug. Marc giggles a little and happily returns the embrace. 

“I’m your only cousin, Mari, but I’m doing fine, what about you?” he softly says. 

Marinette breaks the hug to and— with a bright smile— replies. “First of all that’s irrelevant, you are my favorite cousin, I’m yours, you love and you know it” 

“Can’t argue with that” he interrupts, earning a giggle from Marinette. 

“And second, I’m pretty well and super excited because you have no idea but this will be your best birthday ever!” she exclaims blissfully. 

Before Marc can say something more he is almost tackled to the ground by a hug courtesy of Alix. 

“Hey, mom, didn’t think we forgot about you, did you?” She playfully asks and Marc is more than grateful to return the hug, he smiles at hearing his nickname, Alix loves to say he is the mom of the gang and she also _ loves _ to tease him saying Nathaniel is the dad. 

“Hey, it's my turn!” another voice complains from behind but Marc could recognize it everywhere. 

“Oh, come on, you are the one who spend the most time with him, I’m sure not even Marinette gets to spend that much with  _ her cousin _ ” Alix replies— making emphasis in her cousin’ part— as she tightens her embrace and moves him away from their redhead best friend. “Don’t be selfish, Nath and learn to share Marc with the rest of us” she demands sticking out her tongue. 

Nathaniel cheeks get a slight pink tone, which he tries to hide behind his bangs but he still punches Alix’s arm playfully. 

“Don’t talk like I hoard Marc, is not true, now is my turn, shu shu” he says shushing Alix away from the writer, the pink haired girl lets go of her noiret best friend, whining and complaining like a toddler. Marc just laughs at his best friends’ antics. 

“Happy birthday, Marc” Nathaniel whispers softly as he also hugs the black-haired teen. Marc smiles and gladly return the hug as his cheeks get a lovely shade of pink— you can’t blame him for blushing, his crush is hugging him and it feels so nice— if he could, he would stay like that with Nathaniel forever, unfortunately he can’t and his other friends are already complaining about their turn with ‘mom Marc’ 

“Nathaniel! Don’t hoard Marc again, it is now my turn with mom!” Rose chimes in making the two friends break the hug with red faces, Nathaniel just glares at the blonde with some embarrassment and a slight annoyance. 

“I’m not hoarding him!” he defends and lets go, Marc feels a little guilty for missing the warmth of Nathaniel, but he understands his other friends also want to hug him in his day, and that makes him feel a nice and tickling warmth in his chest, he likes it, he really likes it. 

“Whatever you say tomato” Alix pulls him away and Marc receives the hugs from the rest of his friends, he has to admit it is very funny to see how the act like children fighting for his attention sometimes, is on this situations that he really understand why Alix— and some of his others friends— likes to call him mom. 

His friends and cousin also give him a hand knitted bag— rainbow themed and probably made by Marinette— saying inside are letters from all of them— and even some letters from Luka, Kagami and Ondine, such a shame they don’t go to their school, Jalil also wrote him a letter— he couldn’t be happier even if he try, Marc accepts the bag with some tears of joy. 

After that they parted ways, Marc with Mireille, Aurore and Jean to go to their classroom and the rest of his friends to go to Miss Bustier’s class. 

Entering the salon the rest of his classmates also wish him a happy birthday, even if it is not as emotional and special as it was with his friends it still feels nice, Ms. Mendeleiev also congrats him when she enters the classroom and even gives him a science themed bookmark. 

The school day goes as any other day, though during lunch— which he always eats alone because the cafeteria is to crowded for him, with the occasional company of any of his friends— he is surprised by Marinette, Alix, Nathaniel, Mireille, Aurore and Jean, whom brought him food from a coffee shop near the school that he and Marinette discovered one time while walking, they ordered his favorite sandwich and a cup of cold chocolate, they eat with him and it is of the most agradable lunch he has ever had. 

During their meal his friends encourage him to read the letters he received in the morning, at least the letters from the people present. He does and with every letter he can’t help but tear up a little, every single one of them is precious and sincere. 

And just for the record, during Nathaniel’s letter both the artist and the writer had a red blush covering their faces. And of course Aurore and Alix didn’t take pictures, what are you talking about? 

—————————————— 

When the classes are done he is planning to go directly to the art club, what better way to spend his birthday than enjoying some time in a place he likes, doing what he loves with people he loves and love him back? 

Or that was the plan but Jean asks him help before he can even exit the classroom. He had some trouble understanding today's lesson and he asked the writer to explain it to him. 

“I’m so sorry, I bet tutoring is not the idea you had of what to do on your birthday but I really need your help” Marc just smiles sweetly at him, it wouldn’t be the first time he tutors him— or any of his friends for that matter— and even if tutoring was not part of his plans he doesn’t mind. Not at all. Because he loves to help others, especially his friends so he is more than happy to teach his magician friend. 

“Is okay, Jean, I don’t mind, come one we can study in the library” he softly assures him, the brunette instantly wraps him in a rib crushing hug and thanks him as many times as he can, on their way to the school’s library he texts Nathaniel, making him know he will be a little late today. 

Tutoring Jean took a little more time than he expected, but the relieved face of his friend is enough to make it worth it, besides he still has pretty much time to spend with the art club. After they are done Jean hugs him one more time— and one more time Marc is surprised at how strong the brunette is— and thanks him, then he practically flies from the library, Marc simply shakes his head fondly, Jean is very hyperactive, he guards his things and sends Nathaniel a text saying he is on his way. 

As he walks he thinks about the new ideas he has for the comic, wondering what Nathaniel would think of them, when he finally gets to room 33 he definitely didn’t expect what he walks into. 

_ “SURPRISE!”  _

A cheerful scream is what receives him once he steps in the classroom, he jumps a little startled and looks shocked at what is in front of him. The classroom is decorated with balloons, serpentines and other decoration, all of them rainbow themed, he can see two desks, one has different types of snacks, food and drinks, in the other there is a cake decorated with the same colors as the rest of the room and around said cake there are lots of presents, finally he can see in one of the corners Nino’s dj equipment. 

Looking around he can see all his friends are there— even Jean— including Kagami, Luka and Ondine, his parents are there, as well as uncle Tom, aunt Sabine, Nathaniel’s parents, even Mr.Kubdel and Jalil are there, he also spots Miss Mendeleiev and of course Mr. Carracci is also there. 

It takes exactly five seconds for Marc to process what is happening, the decorations, the food, the cake, the presents, all his beloved ones wearing party hats, with whistles, looking at him with such happiness, they… they made him a surprise party for his birthday. 

For another five seconds the writer can just stare at them, eyes widened in shock and speechless, as he processes what is happening he can feel his eyes getting wet, he tries to say something but there is a knot in his throat and the only thing that comes out is a choked sob, which would have concerned the other people in the room if not was for the beautiful, bright smile Marc has on his lips, despite the tears that are already falling and the little shakes his body makes, the happiness in Marc’s face, in his eyes, is impossible to miss. 

Soft smiles adorn the faces of every person in that room as they patiently wait for the sweet boy to gather himself, after some more second the writer finally finds his voice, though it comes shaky and quiet. 

“G-guys, I… I d-don’t know what to say… thank you!” he chokes out, and his smile if possible becomes bigger, his family and friends cheer and soon enough Marc finds himself in the middle of what has to be the biggest group hug he has ever seen. 

Normally he doesn’t like being the center of attention, normally he would feel panicked for being between so many people but today, today he doesn’t care, today it feels nice, he feels happy, he feels safe, he feels appreciated… he feels  _ loved _ . 

He lets himself enjoy the warmth of the moment, he laughs, he blushes for the comments about how adorable his reaction was, he happily received a second round of congratulations and individual hugs and thanks all the people for being there. 

After the tender moment they proceed to enjoy the party, he takes delight at his favorite food, snack and sweets, and is very grateful with Nino because the music is cool and is decently loud— enough for being enjoyable and to not cause him a panic attack— he learns that the cake is his favorite, a rainbow cake and laughs at his friends antics during the party. 

——————————————

After the guests give him their presents— the ones that were on the table with the cake— Nathaniel takes him outside, he notices he is hiding something behind his back. 

“I have a little present for you” the redhead states, Marc lifts an eyebrow at him. 

“Another one?” He half jokes and half asks genuinely curious, because counting the letter from the morning and the present he gave him just minutes ago like the other guests, then this would be the third gift Nathaniel gives him today. Not like he is complaining, his crush giving him three presents on his birthday? He feels in a cloud!

“Yeah, well I…” Nathaniel blushes and has some trouble making words— how can he function right when his best friend  _ and _ crush is so unfairly pretty? — , Marc thinks is the cutest thing ever. “Is just… I just wanted today to be special for you” he says and it is Marc’s turn to blush because he said it with such sincerity and sweetness that Marc’s feels like melting. 

“Besides… I thought of you when I see them” He says with a more confident smile as he shows what he was hiding, Marc gasps softly and his face became even redder when he sees a lovely bouquet of his favorite flowers, he carefully takes the bouquet from Nathaniel and stares at it like it was some sort of treasure, he brings them to his face to smell the essence and smiles sweetly at the beautiful gift. 

Nathaniel for his part is sure he will die for an overload of cuteness, he just pries for not make a fool of himself like everytime he just can’t with how ridiculously cute and nice his dear writer is, though seeing Marc so happy is a reward, even when he knows very well how much of a bi disaster he is, Marc’s smile is always worth the embarrassment for being too bisexual for his friend to work— like Alix likes to put it— he lets himslef enjoy the tender sight for a moment before adressing his friend. 

“So… you like them?” he asks, even though he already knows the answer. 

“I love them, Nath… Thank you” Marc exclaims as he wraps the redhead in a hug— being careful to not damage the flowers— Nathaniel is more than happy to hug back, they stay like that for who knows how long, but it feels like forever, they wish they could stay like that for forever, but both know is impossible, Nathaniel knows for sure is impossible if he wants to demonstrate he just don’t monopolize Marc for himself like his other friends eagerly like to say. 

Nathaniel breaks the hug, but before he whispers into Marc’s ear. 

“Can we meet at The Louvre tomorrow after classes? I really want to tell you something” 

Marc feels the soft voice of Nathaniel in his ear and tries— failing miserably— to suppress a shiver, he nods and they finally break the embrace, they smile at each other one more time before going back to the party. 

Nathaniel has a feeling of excitement and a mild fear in his chest, what he is going to tell Marc tomorrow is something important that has been growing up in his heart for the last months, something that could change their relationship and, if he is lucky, something that would make them both happy. Marc for his part wonders what Nathaniel will tell him, a strong feeling inside him assures him that whatever the redhead is going to share with him is going to be good and he can’t wait to discover what it is. 

They enjoy the rest of the party, with their friends and a nice filling tickling them. 

—— ————————————

Once the party is finished everybody helps to clean, except for Marc— despite his protests and desire to help— because ‘you are the birthday boy, today is your day so just let us spoil you!’ and believe it or not that was not just Alix, but Marinette, Nathaniel, Aurore, his parents and Ivan as well. 

With everything done, everybody says their goodbyes and gives the boy one last hug, Nathaniel even gives him a kiss on his cheek, making him a blushing mess. 

He finally enters his parent’s car and just stares at the streets as his mom drives them to their house where he will open his presents and read the rest of his letters.

As he sees through the window he can’t help but think again about his past and how much his life has changed, from not knowing what a birthday was to having the best birthday party of his life, from feelings lonely and miserable to feeling like the most loved person in the world. 

Life was not kind to him when he was born and during his first childhood, but now it is smiling at him, with promises of a beautiful future. 

Marc closes his eyes and smiles as he remembers the events of the day, he has no words to describe how thankful he is for the people in his life and how happy they made him, between fresh memories— and for the first time in his life— Marc wonders excited and eager: What surprises will bring his birthday the next year? 


End file.
